heat option guide

HEAT™ Option Guide
Version 1.0

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This guide is copyrighted ©2010 by Avid Technology, Inc., (hereafter “Avid”), with all rights reserved. Under copyright laws, this guide may not be duplicated in whole or in part without the written consent of Avid.

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contents

Chapter 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

System Requirements and Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Conventions Used in This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

About www.avid.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Chapter 2. Installation and Authorization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Installing HEAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Authorizing Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Removing HEAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Chapter 3. Using HEAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Enabling HEAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

About HEAT Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

HEAT Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Master Bypass and Track Bypass Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

A Note About Other Track Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

DSP and Voice Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Using HEAT with a Worksurface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Contents iii

chapter 1

Introduction

HEAT (Harmonically Enhanced AlgorithmTechnology) software option adds “analog color” to Pro Tools®|HD systems. HEAT is ap-plied to all active audio tracks in your session, emulating magnetic recording tape combined with harmonic coloration commonly experi-enced with analog mixing consoles. Use HEAT to open up your mixes with warm, analog-mod-eled soft-saturated distortion.

System Requirements and CompatibilityTo use HEAT, you need the following:

• An iLok USB Smart Key

• An iLok.com account for managing iLok li-censes

• A qualified Pro Tools|HD system (TDM only)

• DVD drive (if installing from the installer disc)

• Internet access for software activation and registration purposes

HEAT is supported with Pro Tools HD 8.1 and higher on Pro Tools|HD (TDM) systems.

Avid can only assure compatibility and provide support for hardware and software it has tested and approved.

For complete system requirements and a list of qualified computers, operating systems, hard drives, and third-party devices, visit:

www.avid.com/compatibility

RegistrationYour software purchase is automatically regis-tered when you activate your iLok license (see “Authorizing Software” on page 3).

Registered users are eligible to receive software update and upgrade notices.

For information on technical support, visit www.avid.com.

Chapter 1: Introduction 1

2

Conventions Used in This GuideAll of our guides use the following conventions to indicate menu choices and key commands::

The names of Commands, Options, and Settings that appear on-screen are in a different font.

The following symbols are used to highlight important information:

Convention Action

File > Save Choose Save from the File menu

Control+N Hold down the Control key and press the N key

Control-click Hold down the Control key and click the mouse button

Right-click Click with the right mouse button

User Tips are helpful hints for getting the most from your system.

Important Notices include information that could affect your data or the performance of your system.

Shortcuts show you useful keyboard or mouse shortcuts.

Cross References point to related sections in this guide and other Pro Tools guides.

HEAT Option Guide

About www.avid.comThe Avid website (www.avid.com) is your best online source for information to help you get the most out of your Pro Tools system. The fol-lowing are just a few of the services and features available.

Product Registration Register your purchase online.

Support and Downloads Contact Avid Customer Success (technical support); download software updates and the latest online manuals; browse the Compatibility documents for system re-quirements; search the online Knowledge Base or join the worldwide Pro Tools community on the User Conference.

Training and Education Study on your own using courses available online or find out how you can learn in a classroom setting at a certified Pro Tools training center.

Products and Developers Learn about Avid products; download demo software or learn about our Development Partners and their plug-ins, applications, and hardware.

News and Events Get the latest news from Avid or sign up for a Pro Tools demo.

chapter 2

Installation and Authorization

Installing HEAT

To install HEAT:

1 Do one of the following:

• Purchase and download the installer for your computer platform from online the Avid Store (www.avid.com). After down-loading, make sure the installer is uncom-pressed (.dmg on Mac or .ZIP on Windows).

• Insert the HEAT Installer disc into your computer (included with boxed versions of HEAT).

• Insert the Pro Tools Installer disc into your computer (version 8.1 or higher).

2 Locate and double-click the installer icon:

• On Mac, Install HEAT.pkg

– or –

• On Windows, HEAT Setup.exe

3 Follow the on-screen instructions.

4 When prompted, click Install.

5 Complete the installation, following the on-screen instructions.

Authorizing SoftwareHEAT is authorized using the iLok USB Smart Key (iLok), manufactured by PACE Anti-Piracy.

This key can hold hundreds of licenses for all of your iLok-enabled software. Once an iLok is au-thorized for a given piece of software, you can use the iLok to authorize that software on any computer.

Authorizing Downloaded Software

If you downloaded software from the Avid Store (http://shop.avid.com), you authorize it by downloading a license from iLok.com to an iLok.

iLok USB Smart Key

An iLok USB Smart Key is not supplied with plug-ins or software options. You can use the iLok included with certain Pro Tools systems (such as Pro Tools|HD-series systems), or purchase one separately.

For more information, visit the iLok website (www.iLok.com).

Chapter 2: Installation and Authorization 3

4

Authorizing Boxed Versions of Software

If you purchased a boxed version of software, it comes with an Activation Code (on the included Activation Card).

To authorize software using an Activation Code:

1 If you do not have an iLok.com account, visit www.iLok.com and sign up for an account.

2 Transfer the license for your software to your iLok.com account by doing the following:

• Visit www.avid.com/activation.

– and –

• Input your Activation Code (listed on your Activation Card) and your iLok.com User ID. Your iLok.com User ID is the name you create for your iLok.com account.

3 Transfer the licenses from your iLok.com ac-count to your iLok USB Smart Key by doing the following:

• Insert the iLok into an available USB port on your computer.

• Go to www.iLok.com and log in.

• Follow the on-screen instructions for trans-ferring your licences to your iLok.

4 Launch Pro Tools.

5 If you have any unauthorized software installed, you are prompted to authorize it.Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the authorization process.

For more information, visit the iLok website (www.iLok.com).

HEAT Option Guide

Removing HEATIf you need to remove HEAT from your Pro Tools system, follow the instructions below for your computer platform.

Mac OS X

To remove HEAT:

1 Open the Pro Tools Plug-ins folder on your Startup drive (located in Applications/Digide-sign/Plug-Ins).

2 Drag the HEAT.dpm file to the Trash.

3 Empty the Trash.

Windows

To remove HEAT:

1 Choose Start > Control Panel.

2 Under Programs, click Uninstall a program.

3 Select the HEAT option from the list of in-stalled applications.

4 Click Uninstall.

5 Follow the on-screen instructions to remove HEAT.

chapter 3

Using HEAT

When enabled, HEAT is applied to all active au-dio tracks in your session, emulating the effect of an analog mixing console. HEAT is supported with all mono, stereo, and surround formats. Use HEAT to open up your mixes with warm, analog-modeled soft-saturated distortion.

Enabling HEATWhen HEAT is enabled, it is on for every audio track in the session. This is important to know because as you increase (or decrease) the num-ber of audio tracks in the session, you also in-crease (or decrease) the amount of DSP resources required to keep HEAT hot. Note that HEAT does not use DSP resources on inactive audio tracks.

To enable (or disable) HEAT in a session, do one of the following:

Select (or deselect) Options > Activate HEAT.

– or –

Select (or deselect) the HEAT On/Off button in the Mix window in HEAT view.

You can also enable the Enable HEAT in New Ses-sions option in the Pro Tools Preferences to have HEAT automatically enabled for all new ses-sions.

To enable (or disable) HEAT for new sessions:

1 Choose Setup > Preferences.

2 Click the Processing tab.

3 In the DSP Management section, select (or de-select) the Enable HEAT in New Sessions option.

4 Click OK.

About HEAT ProcessingHEAT provides global controls for Drive and Tone. These affect all audio tracks where HEAT is not bypassed.

Drive

The Drive control introduces non-linear process-ing that emulates magnetic recording tape com-bined with harmonic information commonly found in analog gear. Turning the Drive control counter-clockwise emulates a tape based non-linear distortion (odd harmonic, starting with the third and fifth. As you increase the level on tape, or in this case the Drive control level, the harmonic content increases and higher fre-quency odd harmonics are added. A tape re-corder also contains record and reproduction equalizers that modify the harmonic content.

Chapter 3: Using HEAT 5

6

The result is a sound that fattens up the bottom and midrange of a recording and smooths high frequency transients as you increase the process. Turning the Drive control clockwise has a more aggressive effect, while adding an even har-monic series commonly found in triode tube cir-cuits to the odd harmonic series. This can give the effect of prized tube microphones and other tube based analog gear.

Note that the harmonic structure changes with signal level and the amount of processing being applied, just like it does in a tube and the analog world.

Tone

As with tape, there can be loss of high frequen-cies with respect to low frequencies if driven far enough, as the high frequencies start compress-ing sooner than the low frequencies. HEAT can compensates for these losses, adding more detail and some brightness too, depending on the pro-gram material and its level. Moving the Tone control away from its default position accentu-ates or de-accentuates the amount of detail and brightness.

The effect of raising the Tone control is different, depending on the Drive control setting. The amount and character of the harmonic content is changed by this control, in a non-linear fash-ion, unlike what a tone control in an equalizer would do.

HEAT Option Guide

HEAT Processing

With HEAT processing, the peaks in the signal are being reduced while the low level harmonic content is increased, thus reducing the level of existing peaks. Think of it as a tube or tape doing soft clipping, “squashing” the peaks and causing analog compression over a wide dynamic range.

How Much Processing Should I Use?

HEAT processing is level and program depen-dent. Although a general setting usually works for many sources, some settings that work best for one source may not have the desired effect for another source. If you need a general pur-pose setting try adding two steps of the Drive control (in either direction).

Since your ears may not be used to the changes to the harmonic content that HEAT provides, you may need to spend a little time listening to the effect of HEAT processing on your program material to acclimate yourself. The human ear loves a little harmonic generation. Experiment with the settings to discover what sounds best to you.

Once you are used to how the program material sounds with some HEAT processing, disabling HEAT can highlight the subtle yet significant ef-fect of HEAT on your program material.

The amount of processing can result in subtle changes or drastic changes depending on what the program is like, and how it was recorded. The difference between processing an analog or digital recording can be subtle or drastic. It may be easier to hear the effect of the processing in material that is more “open,” as opposed to ma-terial that is more dense. The amount of low fre-quency information added also affects how you hear the processing.

HEAT ControlsHEAT provides a simple set of master controls for the tuning the color of the effect, and a set of controls for each audio track in your session.

HEAT Master Controls

The HEAT Master controls let you adjust the amount and color of HEAT processing for all au-dio tracks. Take some time to experiment with different settings until you get the desired tone color for your mix.

On/Off (HEAT) Enables (or disables) HEAT in your Pro Tools session.

Bypass (BYPASS) Bypasses HEAT processing without disabling it. Note that bypassing HEAT does not free up the DSP resources needed for HEAT.

Meter Displays the average amount of HEAT processing across all audio tracks.

Drive Adjusts the amount of Drive for HEAT, which emulates the distortion you get when overdriving an analog channel strip on a con-sole. At the default 12 o’clock position, no HEAT processing is applied. Turn the knob counter-clockwise to add odd harmonics to the mix (a magnetic tape saturation–like effect). Turn the knob clockwise to add even harmonics to the odd harmonic series for the effect of simulating a triode tube circuit.

HEAT Master controls

Tone Adjust the Tone (bass to treble) for HEAT. Turn the control to the right for a brighter sound and to the left for a darker sound.

Showing and Hiding HEAT Master Controls

HEAT Master controls can be viewed in the Mix window.

To show (or hide) HEAT Master controls:

Click the Show/Hide HEAT View button in the lower right corner of the Mix window.

HEAT Track Controls

HEAT track controls are available on all audio tracks. HEAT only affects audio tracks.

Bypass (BYP) Bypasses HEAT processing for the individual audio track. Note that bypassing HEAT on individual tracks does not free up the DSP resources used by HEAT for that track.

Pre/Post Insert (PRE) Sets HEAT processing to be Pre or Post inserts on the individual track. HEAT processing is Pre Inserts when the PRE button is lit. Pre is enabled by default.

Show/Hide HEAT Master View button in the Mix window

HEAT Track controls

Show/Hide HEAT Master View


8

Meter Displays the amount of HEAT processing on the individual audio track. On multichannel tracks, the meter shows the average amount of HEAT applied to all channels of that track.

Showing and Hiding HEAT Track Controls

HEAT Track controls can be viewed in the Mix window.

To show (or hide) HEAT Track controls, do one of the following:

Select (or deselect) View > Mix Window Views > HEAT.

– or –

Select (or deselect) HEAT in the Mix Window View selector.

Selecting HEAT in the Mix Window View selector

HEAT Option Guide

Master Bypass and Track Bypass IndicatorsThe Track Bypass button is color coded to indi-cate whether or not it is explicitly (or implicitly) bypassed when Master Bypass is enabled. Explic-itly bypassed tracks remain bypassed when dis-abling the Master Bypass.

When a track is explicitly bypassed, the BYP but-ton is bright orange.

When the Master Bypass is enabled, it is bright orange and any explicitly bypassed track BYP buttons also remain bright orange. Any implic-itly bypassed tracks BYP buttons change to dark orange.

A Note About Other Track TypesHEAT only affects audio tracks. It is not applied to Instrument, Auxiliary Input, or Master tracks. If you are using virtual instrument plug-ins on an Instrument or Auxiliary Input track and want to apply HEAT, you can either bus record audio from that track to an audio track, or you can bus the output of the track to the input of an audio track and enable Input monitoring.

HEAT Track and Master controls

HEAT Track and Master controls

DSP and Voice RequirementsThe following table lists the number of mono audio tracks per DSP chip that are available with HEAT processing enabled. Stereo tracks require twice the DSP of mono tracks, and surround for-mats require as much DSP per channel as the corresponding number of mono tracks (for ex-ample, a 5.1 track uses the same amount of DSP as 6 mono tracks).

* The number of tracks available per chip is the same for both types of Accel chips (with SRAM and without RAM).

Insufficient DSP Resources

It is possible that your system may have insuffi-cient DSP resources to add more audio tracks to the session when HEAT is enabled (because there is not enough DSP available for HEAT on the new tracks). Should this occur, Pro Tools prompts you to do one of the following:

• Create the new tracks, but make them inac-tive. (Inactive audio tracks do not use any DSP resources.)

– or –

• Disable HEAT and create the new tracks.

Available number of mono audio tracks per DSP chip

DSP Chip Type

44.1/ 48 kHz

88.2/ 96 kHz

172.4/ 192 kHz

HD Accel* 30 14 6

HD (non- Accel)

12 5 2

When opening a session that was saved with HEAT enabled, but your system does not have enough DSP to apply HEAT to all active audio tracks in the session, HEAT is automatically dis-abled. The session notes dialog will indicate that HEAT has been made inactive.

Once the session is open, you can manage which tracks you want to have active with HEAT enabled within the DSP limitations of your sys-tem. You can also expand your Pro Tools|HD system with additional Pro Tools|HD cards to in-crease the available DSP resources for HEAT.

In some cases, if the session you are opening has a lot of active TDM plug-ins, the session may open with HEAT enabled, but make some of the session’s TDM plug-ins inactive. This is because HEAT processing takes priority over TDM plug-in processing.

Voice Requirements

When enabling HEAT, extra voices are required to make HEAT active if HEAT is set to Pre insert on a track and the first plug-in on that track is an RTAS plug-in. If there are an insufficient number of voices available, HEAT cannot be ac-tivated.

If HEAT is already active, set to Post insert on a track, and an RTAS plug-in is the first plug-in on that track, HEAT will require extra voices to be changed to Pre insert. If there are an insufficient number of voices available, the Pre button will be inactive until you increase the number of voices (in the Playback Engine) or until more voices are made available (such as by making some audio tracks inactive).


10

Using HEAT with a Worksurface(ICON and C|24 Only)

You can use the following features provided on ICON (D-Control and D-Command) and C|24 to control HEAT.

D-Control and D-Command

With D-Control or D-Command, you can access HEAT Master Controls in the Custom Fader sec-tion, and HEAT channel controls directly from the channel strips.

Master Controls

HEAT Master Controls include On/Off, Bypass, Drive, and Tone.

To access HEAT Master Controls from D-Control or D-Command:

Shift+Control+Press the Plug-Ins switch in the Custom Fader section.

HEAT creates a Custom Fader for HEAT and maps controls to the middle encoders as de-scribed below.

HEAT Option Guide

D-Control

D-Control provides HEAT Master Controls within a single Custom Fader (#8)

D-Command (Custom Fader 7 and 8)

D-Command provides HEAT Master Controls in the encoder sections of two Custom Faders (7 and 8).

HEAT Master Controls on D-Control

Encoder Parameter Action

#3 HEAT (On/Off) Rotate the encoder, or press encoder 3 BMP, to toggle

#4 MstByp (Master Bypass)

Rotate encoder, or press encoder 4 BMP, to toggle

#5 Drive Rotate encoder

#6 Tone Rotate encoder

HEAT Master Controls on D-Control

Encoder Parameter Action

#1(Fader 7)

HEAT (On/Off) Press BMP to toggle, or rotate the encoder

#2(Fader 7

MstByp (Master Bypass)

Press BMP to toggle, or rotate the encoder

#1(Fader 8)

Drive Rotate encoder

#2(Fader 8)

Tone Rotate encoder

Channel HEAT Bypass and Pre/Post

When HEAT is enabled in a session, each chan-nel strip provides HEAT Bypass and Pre/Post. You can access these channel settings directly from D-Control and D-Command channel strips. Channel HEAT controls follow Do To All and Do to All Selected modifiers.

To access HEAT in the channel strip:

1 Make sure HEAT is enabled in the session.

2 Shift+Control+Press the channel Inserts switch.

D-Control

On D-Control, encoders/BMP switches 5 and 6 map to HEAT Pre/Post and Bypass, respectively.

To toggle a channel between (HEAT) Pre or Post Inserts:

Do either of the following:

• Rotate encoder 5

– or –

• Press encoder 5 BMP switch.

To toggle a channel in or out of HEAT Bypass:


• Rotate encoder 6

– or –

• Press encoder 6 BMP switch.

D-Command

On D-Command, both channel encoders and their BMP switches map to HEAT Pre/Post (up-per encoder row) and Bypass (lower encoder row).



• Rotate the lower encoder.

– or –

• Press the lower encoder’s BMP switch.



• Rotate the upper encoder.

– or –

• Press the upper encoder’s BMP switch.

C|24

C|24 lets you adjust HEAT Master Controls from encoders 21–24, and HEAT channel controls in each channel strip.

Master Controls

To access HEAT Master Controls on C|24:

Press the Soft Keys switch in the Channel Bar. To exit, press the Soft Keys switch again.

HEAT Master Controls are mapped to the en-coder and encoder switches of channel strips 21–24, as shown in Table 1 below.

Channel HEAT Bypass and Pre/Post

When HEAT is enabled in a session, each chan-nel strip provides HEAT Bypass and Pre/Post. You can access these channel settings directly from C|24 channel strips. Channel HEAT con-trols follow Do To All and Do to All Selected modifiers.

HEAT supports Flip mode for both its Master and Channel controls.


12

To access HEAT channel controls:

1 Make sure HEAT is enabled in the current ses-sion.

2 In the channel strip, press and hold the chan-nel Insert switch. To exit, press the same switch again.

HEAT Option Guide


Press the channel Bypass switch.


Rotate the channel encoder, or press the encoder switch, and choose Pre or Post.

Table 1. HEAT Master Controls on C|24

Encoder: 21 22 23 24

ParameterHEAT (On/Off) MstByp (Master

Bypass)Drive Tone

ActionPress the Encoder switch to toggle

Press the Encoder switch to toggle

Rotate encoder Rotate encoder

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